


stars, hide your fires

by tangomarine



Category: Something Rotten! - Kirkpatrick/Kirkpatrick/O'Farrell
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, nick’s an oblivious motherfucker, no seriously he cannot tell when will’s flirting w him and i’m tired of their bs, pining? if you squint? kinda lowkey but definitely there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 09:13:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangomarine/pseuds/tangomarine
Summary: “Stars, hide your fires!Let not light see my black and deep desires”Macbeth, Act I, Scene IVWill’s always been a bit of a flirt, and Nick shouldn’t let it bother him. He almost always doesn’t.But Will’s been acting strange lately.





	stars, hide your fires

**Author's Note:**

> hey so there’s like hardly anything for this fandom so I decided to write something bc I was bored
> 
> and now I have this
> 
> enjoy

Nick doesn’t know what Will is doing, but he does not like it.

They’re sitting in a tavern and Will is not-so-subtly flirting with a guy that happens to be very handsome and at least three years older than they are. Will would probably deny it, but Nick knows how Will flirts - that coy smile, those fleeting touches, those long, lingering glances. He notices all of it, and that gets under his skin; but what Nick doesn’t notice is the way Will’s eyes flick to him whenever he’s not looking, to gauge his reaction. 

And the reaction is not good.

It gets progressively worse each night, when Will’s flirting starts to become more and more forward. A hand on the thigh, leaning in just a little too close, biting his lip, gaze dragging up and down the man’s frame in a way that makes Nick want to scrub his eyes with lye soap until they forget Will’s eager smirk - Will is not even close to discreet, and it’s really pissing Nick off.

He finally brings it up after about a week and a half, pointing out that the guy probably has a million better options than a far-too-young man that he doesn’t even know. “Besides,” he adds, “he’s probably already got a partner.”

Will just shrugs. “If it helps you sleep at night, then okay,” he replies casually.

It takes him a moment to catch the implication. “I’m not jealous,” he snaps, reddening. He realizes a few seconds too late how overly defensive he sounds. Will grins, and damn him for how coy and teasing his smile is.

“Whatever you say, Nicholas,” he drawls. 

Nick scowls. He hates the way Will always manages to get under his skin, for some strange reason. “Stop saying my name like that,” he mutters, for lack of a better argument. “Just - shut up, okay?” This is either the wrong or the right thing to say, because Will steps up to him, watching Nick very carefully, and he’s just a little too close.

“No, I don’t think I will,” he says airily. “It’s not like you could make me.”

They’re face-to-face, almost touching. Will continues speaking, walking his fingers slowly up Nick’s chest.

“After all,” he murmurs, “if you can’t even show me that you mean what you say, why should I take you seriously?”

His eyes snap up and meet Nick’s, and there’s something there he can’t quite put his finger on. Something dark, something burning, daring him to say anything at all. 

“Bet you can’t even shut me up,” Will says suddenly. He’s so close that Nick can feel his breath, warm against his jawline. “Go ahead, Nick. Make me shut up, if you’re so mad.”

Tension coils in his stomach. Nick pushes him back, holding him against the wall. Strangely, Will seems almost excited - Nick feels rather than hears Will’s breath hitch and his dark eyes are bright with what might be anticipation.

There’s a long pause, in which Nick can feel Will’s pulse hammering against his chest. 

Will smiles. “Well?” he says, and his voice is oddly breathless.

Nick feels like he should understand this, like everything should click. It doesn’t. He steps back, distancing himself from whatever is happening. And just like that, the moment ends.

Nick only just catches a glimpse of Will, looking almost disappointed, as he turns and walks away. 

He leaves Will and his bloody confusing subtext alone in the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> might write more, idk tho
> 
> comments give me life. please please please tell me what you thought and/or if y’all want another chapter


End file.
